The matter of excessive noise emanating from domestic air conditioning installations, and particularly from the refrigeration condensor coil assembly therefor, has long been a matter of concern and annoyance. Typically, a domestic air conditioner installation comprises a plenum-mounted evaporator coil mounted to provide cooling effect to air blowing through the plenum to be then distributed to a room or rooms that are intended to be cooled. That evaporator coil is, in turn, connected to an externally mounted refrigeration condensor coil structure by refrigerant piping so that the refrigerant is fed back to a compressor which is, in turn, associated with a plurality of cooling fins, whereby the well-known refrigeration cycle continues and cool refrigerant is fed back to the plenum-mounted evaporator coil. Within the externally mounted refrigeration condensor coil structure there is mounted a fan, whose purpose is to induce airflow over the cooling fins.
Of course, there are a number of sources of noise during the operation of an externally refrigeration condensor coil structure. Those sources of noise include not only the sound of air flowing over and past the cooling fins, but particularly the sound of the compressor itself as it is operating, and also to some extent the sound of the fan as it pulls air through the refrigeration condensor coil structure and expels it upwardly and away from the refrigeration condensor coil structure. The present inventors have noted, however, that the sound of the fan can be exacerbated if there is not a clear and unhindered or unencumbered air flow path within the air of the heat ginger structure towards the fan. On the other hand, typically the only structural member which is found within the interior of a refrigeration condensor coil structure is, indeed, the compressor and the associated refrigerant piping and electrical wiring connected to it.
This, in turn, has led to the unexpected discovery that by aerodynamically streamlining the compressor, as well as by surrounding it with a sound attenuating cover, an enhanced sound attenuation or noise abatement can be achieved beyond that which is the result simply of the utilization of the sound attenuating cover.
Accordingly, the inventors herein provide a sound attenuating cover which may be intimately fitted to the compressor of a domestic air conditioner quickly and efficiently. Moreover, sound attenuating covers for domestic air conditioners in keeping with the present invention may be easily shipped in a collapsed or unassembled condition, for easy field installation. This is achieved by providing effectively a two-piece structure comprising a top cover member and an outer sleeve member which, when assembled, assumes a closed cylindrical structure appearance having a slightly adjustable diameter, and which can be secured in place and intimately fitted to the compressor.
It is recognized and understood, of course, that the diameter and height of compressors will vary from manufacturer to manufacture, and particularly depending on the rating of the compressor. For example, a small compressor rated at 24,000 BTU will usually be smaller both in diameter and height than a larger compressor rated at, say, 60,000 BTU. However, those details are of little consequence to the present invention, and are merely a matter of dimension and scaling to meet the specific requirements of each manufacture for specific compressors. That is to say, different sizes and designs of compressors merely require different cutting patterns and templates for their manufacture.
The present inventors also provide a structure which may utilize varying sound attenuating materials, depending to some extent on the size and rating of the compressor to which the sound attenuating cover, and depending also on the available space within specific refrigeration condenser coil structures. Some manufacturers will provide a smaller refrigeration condenser coil structure that may be cantilever mounted to a wall and which may therefore have a smaller dimension and weight than a similar rated condenser coil structure which is intended to be mounted on such as a concrete pad.